‘Jeopardy!’ Serves Up a Fast-Paced Match Filled With Personality, Pressure & Unique Professions

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Returning champion Aaron Levine, hoping to add to his one-day winning of $20,600.
He faced off against Olympic bobsledder Cynthia Appiah and peanut butter artisan Alan Turner in a lively and competitive Jeopardy! match
Levine maintained a narrow lead throughout the game, successfully wagering on a few Daily Doubles, making Final Jeopardy anyone’s game.

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, October 28, episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! returning champ and former reality show star Aaron Levine returned to battle it out with two new contestants. With a one-day haul of $20,600, Levine faced off against Olympic bobsledder Cynthia Appiah from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and peanut butter artisan Alan Turner from Rohnert Park, California.

“It was an emotional win yesterday for our new champion, Aaron Levine, who set a personal goal six years ago to appear on Jeopardy! and then seemed visibly moved yesterday when he exceeded his goal by not only competing in but winning his game,” said Ken Jennings at the top of the show. “I wish all three of you the very best of luck.”

Levine started off the game by picking “American History” for $800. With the clue, “‘One of those uncommon geniuses’, said William Henry Harrison of this Shawnee chief whose people he defeated at Tippecanoe,” Levin answered, “Who is Tecumseh?” and was on the board.

Levine found the first Daily Double of the game hidden under “American History” for $600. He wagered a true Daily Double with his whole $1,800 pot on the clue: “He made his fortune selling gear to miners in California, expanded it with railroads & founded a university.” With the correct answer of, “Who is Leland Stanford?,” Levine doubled his winnings to $3,600.

Turner was able to get on the board by the fourth clue in “A Novel Setting.” With $800 on the line, Turner correctly answered the clue, “Jack Torrance learns ‘one reason’ this hotel ‘lost so much money lies in the depreciation that occurs each winter’; yup, that’s 1 reason,” with “What is the Overlook?”

By the time of the commercial break, Levine was ahead with $5,800, while Turner trailed behind with $3,000 and Appiah stood at $0.

In the “Getting to Know You” segment, Turner shared his love of peanut butter and how he makes and sells his own at local farmers’ markets. Appiah discussed her bobsledding career, including competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics and serving as an alternate in 2018. She’s currently training for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. Reigning champ Levine explained that he prepared for Jeopardy! the old-fashioned way — by studying with handwritten notecards.

Canadian Appiah tried to get on the board with the category “Let’s Speak Canadian” for $200: “Gotta stop by Tim Hortons & pick up a double-double, coffee with 2 servings of each of these.” Sadly, she answered incorrectly with, “What is cream and sugar?,” which put her in the hole and allowed Turner to steal, giving him control of the board.

Luckily, she climbed out of the hole in the same category with the clue, “A type of flat, sweet pastry is a ‘tail’ of this very Canadian animal.” With the correct response, “What is a beaver?,” Appiah finally got on the board with $400.

The first round proved to be a tight race between Turner and Levine, with the returning champ working hard to maintain his lead. By the end of the round, Levine was ahead with $8,400, Turner was close behind with $7,800, and Appiah rounded out the board with $1,200.

In Double Jeopardy!, the second Daily Double was found by Levine as the tenth clue under “Significant Mothers” for $2,000: “Catherine of Aragon was the youngest daughter of this royal mom.” Wagering a massive $6,000, the champ incorrectly answered, “Who is Catherine Medici?” “No, Aragon is in Spain. This is Queen Isabella,” said Jenning. With a new total of $8,800, Levine was still in the lead.

The second Daily Double was found again by Levine, this time under “Publishing Pros” for $1,600. He wagered $4,000 on the clue, “In an unpredictable move, this publisher merged with Penguin in 2013.” With the answer of Random House, Levine was now sitting pretty with $12,800.

By the end of Double Jeopardy!, Levine was in the lead with $15,200, but Turner wasn’t too far behind with $11,000. Appiah was in third with $2,400.

The Final Jeopardy! round was in the category of “Brand Names”: “This brand got its name in 1940 after a distillery executive took friends on a hunting trip.” Appiah answered first with “What is Johnny Walker? (Hi Hey y’all in Calgary!).” Betting $2,300 against her $2,400, that left the Canadian with $100. Turner answered, “What is Jaegermeister?” which was also wrong. His total of $11,000 was cut down to $7,000 due to a $4,000 wager.

And finally, Levine answered, “What….”, as he did not know the answer. “It’s a brand of bourbon, you were thinking along the right lines, but they were hunting for Wild Turkeys,” revealed Jennings. With a wager of $6,801, Levine won the game with $8,399, bringing his two-day total to $28,999 and maintaining his title of Jeopardy! champion.